PITTSBURGH, Pa. — EQT Corp. announced plans to increase focus on the Utica Shale play this year, company executives said Thursday with investors and analysts.
Overall production sales are likely to jump 24 percent over 2013, primarily in the Marcellus Shale.
EQT has three wells in the Utica, performance in which was described as “mediocre” on the call. The company has 21 wells in progress for development in 2014 and will look to tap into the highly profitable light oil (carbonate) suspected to be in the region.
EQT told analysts it would make significant changes to drilling design in order to improve output from the wells. It will be able to assess its future in the Utica region because with the new drilling, the company will be able to assess whether the new techniques provide a sufficient return on investment and would make further development profitable.
The next five Utica wells will be drilled to 6,500 feet, in contrast with the first three, which were drilled to 6,000 feet, which may help performance, the company said.
If EQT continues development in the light oil section of the Utica, the company will likely take advantage of Marcellus infrastructure already
